1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material. More particularly, it relates to a color photographic light-sensitive material which has improved speed of silver removal during a step of development processing in which the silver image is removed (bleaching) after the formation of a dye image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With respect to an incorporated coupler type color photographic light-sensitive material which contains a water soluble or organic solvent soluble diffusion resistant dye image forming coupler homogeneously or as a dispersion thereof, the purity of the dye image is adversely affected and color reproduction falls off when silver removal with an oxidizing bath after color development is insufficiently carried out.
A color photographic light-sensitive material which is applicable to rapid processing has been required more and more. Although the period of time required for developing is reduced at high processing temperatures or using a developing agent having a strong developing activity, it is difficult to shorten the overall time required for color processing due to the silver removal step which is a rate-determining step.
It is considered to be advantageous not only to increase the silver removal speed but also to save silver which is expensive. In order to solve the problem a two-equivalent type coupler is employed. The use of a two-equivalent coupler can reduce the amount of silver halide required to a range of 2/3 to 1/2 of that needed when a four-equivalent coupler is used and can speed up the development step. However, the removal of silver becomes rather difficult in some cases depending on the method of removing silver when a two-equivalent coupler is used. This is particularly true in a reversal color processing. Also the removal of silver is remarkably difficult when a two-equivalent coupler is present together with a development inhibitor releasing coupler or a development inhibitor releasing compound.
It is known that a copolymer of polyvinyl alcohol can be effectively used for preventing color turbidity due to insufficient silver removal as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,726. "Color turbidity" means the phenomenon caused by poor silver removal after color developing a color photographic light-sensitive element in an oxidizing-bleach bath, whereby the wide spectral absorption band of the remaining silver overlaps the sharp spectral absorption band of the developed color image. It is also known that a copolymer of polyvinylpyrrolidone is effective as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,730,726 and 3,655,389. However, even when such a copolymer is used the speed of removing silver is still insufficient when the intention is to process a color photographic material rapidly. In particular, when a large amount of hardener is used in a light-sensitive material in order to increase the strength of a gelatin layer, a rapid removal of silver is difficult.